Fortunata. Italian for “lucky lady.” Sinatra had a whole song about her. And today she walked into your inbox at $28 a bottle. Umm.. You’re welcome.

UNDISPUTED YES!!! Every single one of us reached for more. Not a single dissenting vote at HQ on this one. Just juicy, tasty love for this wine across the board!!

Random Ridge is a winery you all know and have loved in the past, but if you don’t know; Here’s the short version: Bill Hawley is just a plain old, cool-ass dude and Random Ridge is a true insiders’, old school, locals-only type winery found on the backside of Mt. Veeder. Pioneered by Hawley, at an elevation of 2,400 feet they’re one of the highest wineries in Napa!

He snagged this Mayacamas property in 1979 at 27 years old, built a house from recycled lumber, planted 9.5 acres of vines himself in rugged volcanic soil, and lived completely off the grid for 20 years. His winemaking philosophy: “Grow good grapes and get out of the way.” And it works!! He makes some of the most distinctive Mt. Veeder expressions out there.

He doesn’t send these wines for scores, but a long-lost snippet from Robert Parker confirms Bill’s “excellent winemaking” is difficult to resist, which is a style that we’ve come to love so much from Bill.

This wine is 90% Sangiovese from the actual Brunello di Montalcino clone and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Historically he has leaned heavier into Cabernet Sauvignon, but with the 2022 vintage, he let the Sangiovese run the show and in a hot vintage like 2022, the Sangiovese really is the magic in this wine bringing brightness that we all loved!

In the glass it showcases Sangiovese so well! Bright red cherry confection and purple/red plums right out of the gate with dark cacao nibs and cigar box. It’s just an explosion of flavors that mirror the nose and then some. Cherry and black raspberry compote, a linear edge of pomegranate underneath, juicy and playful, with bright acidity, which left all of us fantasizing about food and then Cabernet Sauvignon kicked in towards the end giving way to a beautiful edge of dark cherry and mountain tannins on the long finish.

Brunello from Italy runs big and bold. Most California Sangiovese RARELY gets there, but this one does!

Mt. Veeder fruit at $50 retail is already an outrageous value in its zip code, but with over 40% OFF? That’s not a deal.. That’s the Lucky Lady stealing the moment!